How to Draw Santa, Realistic Santa

STEP 1.

Start out by picking your pencils. I used a 4H pencil for the lightest shading, an HB pencil for sketching/lines/shading, and a 3B pencil for dark shading. You could probably complete this drawing using only an HB pencil but I found using multiple pencils more convenient. Everyone keeps asking me where I get my pencils. If you go to finalprodigy.com and click on "art supplies" in the menu you can find all of the supplies that I use.

STEP 2.

Start out with a basic sketch. Use the guidelines if you need them. Make sure to sketch as lightly as possible and erase any lines that you won't need.

STEP 3.

Your finished sketch should end up looking something like this.

STEP 4.

Start refining your light lines and adding a bit of detail starting with the face and glasses. I used a 4H pencil since it produces lighter and finer lines than the HB.

STEP 5.

Define Santa's hat a bit more.

STEP 6.

Now refine the beard and shoulders.

STEP 7.

Now roughly shade in the background. Cross-hatch on a layer with an HB pencil then shade with a 3B pencil for the darker areas of the background.

STEP 8.

Now blend in your background shading using a blending stump.

STEP 9.

Now use an HB pencil to roughly shade in the face. Shade very lightly.

STEP 10.

Now start defining your shading and adding details to the face starting at the eyes and forehead. I used an HB pencil for the darker shading (in the eyes for instance) and 4H for the lighter shading on the whites of the eyes and the skin. Use a blending stump sparingly to smooth out your shading. Try not to loose the texture of the skin if you find yourself blending.

STEP 11.

Now start shading cheeks and glasses using the same pencils for the same tasks. I decided to work from left to right.

STEP 12.

Now shade in the other cheek as well as the mustache and lower lip. Use a 4H pencil to sketch in the lighter hairs of the 'stache and an HB for the darker ones.

STEP 13.

Now move up to Santa's hat. Use an HB pencil and a blending stump to roughly plan out the shading. Use 4H and HB pencils to define the hat's outline.

STEP 14.

Use a 4H pencil for the lighter shading. Use a combination of HB and 3B pencils to shade in the darker materials.

STEP 15.

Now work on your background a bit by smoothing out and darkening the shading a bit. After that use an HB pencil to add the first layer of shading to the rest of the drawing.

STEP 16.

Now finish up your drawing by defining the beard and jacket. Use a 4H or HB pencil on the beard. Don't let it intimidate you. It is basically just a bunch of downward flowing squiggly lines. Use a blending stump to blend your beard hairs in if the seem too rough. After that use HB and 3B pencils to shade in the darker parts of the jacket. Call your drawing done after you've gone over over your shading and details and are satisfied. I hope you all enjoy tutorial! Happy Holidays!

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